Communications

This is a request pursuant to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, codified at Connecticut General Statutes § 1-200, et seq.

Please provide copies of the following:

(1) Records regarding the sharing of any information between the National Security Agency ("NSA") or the Drug Enforcement Agency's Special Operations Division ("SOD") and the Connecticut State Police or other Connecticut law enforcement agency. According to a report by Reuters, the SOD has a longstanding practice of obtaining intelligence-community information from the NSA and sharing it with domestic law enforcement agencies. See http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-dea-sod-idUSBRE97409R20130805.

(2) Records regarding policies and guidelines governing the use of such shared information, including restrictions on when, where, how, and against whom it may be used, and limitations on retention and use.

(3) The case name, docket number, and court of all criminal prosecutions, current or past, that involved a 'tip,' or shared information, from SOD. See id.

(4) Records referring to "parallel construction." Some sharing of information between the intelligence community and domestic law enforcement agencies reportedly involves a process called "parallel construction," in which surveillance methods are shielded from public view by constructing a "parallel" investigative trail. Id.

This request is being made to benefit the general welfare. MuckRock is a collaborative news organization that brings together journalists, researchers, activists, and regular citizens to request, analyze, and share government documents, making politics more transparent and democracies more informed. This request is made for the purpose of investigating the constitutionality and privacy implications of information sharing between federal and state agencies as it concerns the general public. For this reason, we request that you waive all fees associated with this request, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes § 1-212(d)(3). If you do not agree to waive copying fees, please provide us with the basis of your decision along with the Department's written policy on responding to public records requests.